The Platinum Supply Problem

According to a NewsWeek article I was reading today, cataltyic converters have become a popular item among thieves. The article says that "about 60 percent of the world's platinum supply goes into them". With automobile ownership growing as fast as it is in China and India, platinum is going to become an even rarer commodity. Does this mean that the cars made in those two countries will not be equipped with the pollution saving devices?

My guess is yes.

The $2,500 Doomsday Device

"India's Tata Motors today unveiled the Nano, its much-anticipated $2,500 car, an ultracheap price tag that brings car ownership into the reach of tens of millions of people."

In India, there are fewer than 10 cars for every thousand people, compared with 450 in the U.S. If this remarkable piece of engineering enables Indians to achieve an automobile ownership rate 25% of the U.S. Rate then that could amount to an additional 130 million autos on the planet in the near future.

To put that in perspective, at 450 per 1000, there are currently just over 130 million autos in the us.

It is obvious that we can't just tell developing nations like India and China they can not enjoy the standard of living that we have enjoyed for the last 100 years but I fear that if they follow the same course then we are all doomed.